File-box



(No Model.)

A. W. BURR.

FILE BOX.

No. 371,735. Patented Oct. 18,1887.

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WQW MMA N, PETERS. Phnln-Lilhngmphcr. Washington, 0. c.

@ AW LM- NITED Spares arrest @rrrca ALMON V. BURR, OF BELOIT,W'ISCONSIN.

FILE- BOX.

SPECIFICATION iorming part of Letters Patent No. 371,735, dated October18, 18537.

Application filed March 8, 1887.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALMoN WV. BURR, a citi' zen of the United States,residing at Beloit, in the county of Rock and State of \Visconsin,haveinvented certain new and useful Improve ments in File-Boxes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in file-boxes which are adapted forholding files of various manuscripts, letters, pamphlets,or otherpapers; and the objects of my invention are to simplify theconstruction, reduce the cost of production, and to produce a convenientfile-box. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s a perspective viewof one form of my filebox. Fig. 2 is a like view of another form of mybox. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section, partly in elevation, of one cornerof my box on an enlarged scale; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation, on anenlarged scale, of a cord-fastening device for my file-box.

The box or case I prefer to construct with one open end, said boxconsisting of the side pieces, A A, end piece 13, and bottom piece, 0,all secured rigidly together, as shown. I prefer to fit these parts withtongned-and-grooved or rabbeted edges, or both, so that they may beshipped in the knockdown form and afterward conveniently fastenedtogether. I also prefer to provide the end piece Bwith cornerirons a, ofan angular form, the arms of the same being secured to said end pieceand the side pieces, A, at a little distance from their meeting edges,so as to leave an eye or opening inclosed by the corner-iron and thepieces A and B, as shown in Fig. 3, said eye being for the passage ofthe cord I). Said corner; pieces also serve as a corner-fastening toassist in holding the box together. Upon each of the side pieces, A A,at a pointjust above the corner-iron a, I secure a projecting cleat, c,for the double purpose of strengthening said side pieces and for forminga projection upon the inside of the box which will guard the cords bypreventing the pamphlets orother papers within the boX coming so closelyto the sides thereof as to interfere with their operation.

D designates the movable end piece or follower, which is of a size thatwill permit it to Serial No. 230,093. (No model.)

move bodily through the box and up close to thelixed end piece l3. Upontheoutside of this end piece, at the middle portion and near eachedgc,lsecure suitable cyes,d,through which to pass. the cord 1). Whilethese eyes are within what I term the middle portion of the height ofthe follower, I prefer to secure them a little above the exact middle.In the construction shown in Fig. 1 both cords, or both ends of the cordZ), run through a movable eye, e,then under a cleat,), at the top of theend piece B, and are then knotted, making the endless cord 1). Thecleatf is cut away at its middle portion, so as to give the cord b freepassage, said notch being preferably a little to the right of the exactmiddle when viewed as in the drawings, while upon each side of saidnotch the cleat is set at only a slight distance from the end piece, sothat when the two parts of the cord 11 are drawn to the left into thenarrow space between the clcatand the end piece, as indicated by brokenlines in Fig. 1, they will be pinched sufficiently to prevent them fromslipping. Should they slip under heavy pressure, the action ofthe cordupon the movable eye 6 is to draw the cord to the left and tighten it.The cord may also be additionally fastened by passing it around underone extremity of the cleat, which extremities are beveled for thatpurpose on the side facing the end piece B.

The box, when opened, as shown in Fig. 1, may be filled or partiallyfilled with papers, when the cord 6 is grasped and pulled up through thecentral opening or notch in the cleat, thereby moving the follower Dbodily through the box until it presses firmly upon the papers. Thecord 1) is then drawn toward the left into the narrower space betweenthe cleat and end piece to firmly fasten the cord in place, as indicatedby the broken lines in Fig. 1. The loose end of the cord is then thrownon the papers in the box, and the file is ready for the shelf.

In order to open the file at any time the cord 1) is drawn toward theright to bring it within the notch in the cleat f, as shown by the fulllines in Fig. 1, and is then allowed to slip until the followerD,falling back, releases the papers within the box and inclines them atany angle desired for convenience of consultation. The followerandpapers may then be set or fixed at this angle by drawing the cord tothe left, as before described. Both hands are then free for handling thepapers, and the papers may be left accessible any length of timedesired. The follower D, being beveled at the bottom to its inner edge,by merely resting upon the bottom of the boX will naturally fall into aninclined position when the cord 1) is loosened, so as to leave the boxthe widest open at the .top, as shown.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated the same general features, but differingsomewhat as to the details of fastening the cord. Instead of cleat c toform a projection to make a free space for the cords, I groove the sidepiecesof the box for the same purpose, as shown atc, thereby leavingaprojection not only above the cord, but also belowdt. The knotted cordb passes around the follower D through two small screw eyes or hooks, aa. To the inside of the fixed end piece B, I secure two hinged arms, EE, having their confronting ends beveled or rounded off at the lowercorners. as shown. These arms are of such length and so pivoted thatwhen the confronting ends meet said arms do-not fall quite far enough tobring them into alignment with their centers of m otion,thereby givingthem the nature of toggle-arms. A spring, 8, is applied to said arms andhas a constant tendency to force them downward into the position shown.The double end of the cord b passes between the ends of the arms E E,and is held thereby. The handle K is taken hold of to open the arms tolet the cord slip down through them; but in drawing the cord up throughthe arms it is not necessary to touch the handle. A very similarfastening device is illustrated in Fig. 4, which differs from that shownin Fig. 2 by having only one of the arms E and substituting for theomitted arm a stationary jaw or abutment piece, E.

l I prefer to use hard twisted cord for drawing and fastening thefollower; but any known equivalent may be substituted therefor-as, forinstance, a fine chain, flexible wire, or band of leather or othermaterial.

I claim as my invention- 1. The herein-described file-box, consisting ofthe box or case, the follower adapted to move bodily through said case,the cord connecting the middle portion of said follower with the endpiece of said case, and fastening devices for securing said cord and thefollower in place, substantially as described, and for the purposespecified.

2. The herein-described filebox, consisting of the box or case, thefollower adapted to move bodily through said case, the cord for movingand fastening said follower, and the projections on the side pieces toguard the cord, substantially as described, and for the purposespecified.

3. In a file-box, the cornerpieces a a, ex tending into the end and sidepieces a little distance from their meeting edges, thereby forming acorner-fastening and an eye for the cord, all substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of the box or case, themovable follower, the cordconnecting said follower with the end piece of said case, thefastening-cleatf, notched on its inside, and the movable eye below saidcleat with both parts of the cord running through it, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose specified.

ALMON W. BUR-R.

WVitnesses:

J. B. Dow, 'CHAsE A. BACON.

